"Bastard! I am the Warden of this prison, and I bear the responsibility of guarding you heinous criminals!" Magellan's voice thundered, his fury clear as he glared at Ashveil with bloodshot eyes.
Though his strength fell short compared to the intruder, Magellan had already steeled his resolve. Even if it cost his life, he would stop Ashveil's escape. He was the Warden of Impel Down—he could not allow a single criminal to run free and endanger the world.
Venom surged from his body in torrents. The usual purple poison grew darker and darker until it turned crimson, the stench burning the air itself. His own eyes bled red as he lifted a trembling hand and summoned forth a mass of venom that pulsed with death.
The prisoners knew that form well.
"Careful, Ashveil," Crocodile warned, his tone more serious than usual. "That red venom corrodes everything it touches."
Ashveil smirked faintly, unimpressed. No matter how terrifying Magellan's techniques seemed, they were meaningless before his strength. He was a walking anomaly in this world of pirates, a force that defied the natural order.
"Boy, prepare yourself! As Warden, I cannot let you escape! Poison Giant Soldier!" Magellan roared.
The crimson flood coalesced into a massive skeletal giant, its face twisted into a grotesque grimace like a reaper heralding death.
"It's here—Magellan's strongest attack," Crocodile muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Touch that thing, and it will spread until nothing remains."
Even the hardened Devon shuddered.
Kaido of the Beasts, however, only raised a brow. He had fought Ashveil before and knew better than anyone else present that Magellan's effort would be meaningless.
Douglas Bullet and the Red Count scoffed, their gazes locked on the crimson skeleton.
"Tricky, yes," Bullet said flatly. "But obviously , against this dude, it won't last five minutes."
Ashveil chuckled at their words. "Five minutes? That's too generous." His fight against Kaido had lasted twenty minutes only because he was bored. This wouldn't even reach half of that.
He shrugged casually. "Magellan, I gave you a chance. If you're determined to throw your life away, don't blame me."
Magellan's killing intent sharpened. "Die!"
The Poison Giant's enormous hand crashed down, the air splitting from the pressure before it even reached Ashveil. The Sixth Floor quaked violently, the ground shattering as dust engulfed the battlefield.
Magellan bellowed, "Perish under my poison!"
Kaido shook his head as though pitying the Warden. "Magellan… you've walked into your own grave."
And just as he predicted—
A storm of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Ashveil, blasting outward like a detonation. The shockwave roared through the prison, tearing apart even the Sea Stone–reinforced walls.
The gale sent prisoners staggering as the entire Sixth Floor threatened to collapse.
Crocodile cursed under his breath, shielding his face. "Ridiculous… this is only the aftermath, yet I can barely stand against it!"
Iron bars securing Ace's cell tore free and clattered across the ground. Ace gripped the wall, eyes wide with disbelief. "I'd heard of him, the Zero Division Captain's power… but I never imagined anything like this."
Even Shiryu of the Rain, Nine-Tailed Fox Catarina Devon, and the other infamous monsters of Impel Down could not hide their shock. Though their bodies endured, their expressions betrayed awe. They were veterans of countless seas, yet here they stood, shaken merely by the residual wave of Ashveil's Haki.
Kaido exhaled slowly, his tone half-amused, half-resigned. "I told you, Magellan. You can't win."
Bullet and Red Count resisted the shock but found themselves just as astonished. "This strength… he really is peerless," Red Count muttered.
Meanwhile, deeper within the prison, Luffy staggered as the tremors reached him. "Wahh! An earthquake?!" He shook his head, ignoring the Marines chasing after him. "Ace, wait! I'm coming to save you!"
Back on the Sixth Floor, the storm finally subsided. Silence fell, broken only by the dripping of crimson poison spreading uselessly across the stone.
The skeletal giant was gone, melted back into a harmless pool. Rubble and collapsed walls lay scattered.
And Magellan, once standing atop his monstrous creation, now lay bloodied on the ground.
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